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Whose Song Is It, Anyway?

Behind the success of YouTube, Facebook, Amazon and other digital giants is a creative class whose work is being rewarded less and less. Matthew Rees reviews “Move Fast and Break Things” by Jonathan Taplin.

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Matthew Rees

April 19, 2017 6:54 p.m. ET

Musicians have a long, if not always distinguished, history of political advocacy. Of late they’ve taken supposedly bold positions on climate change, gun control, Brexit and low voter turnout. One advocacy effort is notable for its obscurity, however: Last year, nearly 200 luminaries, from the young (Taylor Swift) to the old (Paul McCartney), urged Congress to modernize the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The 1998 law, they said, enriches YouTube and other corporate platforms while providing only meager benefits to artists and songwriters: “We ask you,” they declared, “to enact sensible reform that balances the interests...